


Hard-Locked (out of your world)

by ghostpaws00



Series: Anomaly's Glitch [1]
Category: Kirby (Video Games), Kirby - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Don't copy to another site, Kirby Star Allies, Might contain spoilers, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-08-23 09:53:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20240902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostpaws00/pseuds/ghostpaws00
Summary: hard locked/härd läkt/A technical terminology used to describe the state of a console's cartridge. The condition is most often referred to as the game's graphics frozen in place due to an error of the game attempting to find a[n important] component that's unfortunately stuck in an endless loop.Chances of progressing from this predicament are slim, if not impossible.The solution?The harsh reality of giving up and deleting your file.Update after update after update...Perhaps dumping all of that hot sauce has its consequences....The low hum of the anomaly awaits you.





	1. Save File Corrupted

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry about not updating the other fics, I'll try to get to them soon!  
For now, I hope you enjoy this and endure the year-long wait...!

Space.   
Space was a beautiful abstract area. The seeming darkness splayed across the galaxy, giving way to shining diamonds to develop and nurture their growth.

That was another thing.

The stars.

And galaxies.

They held wondrous treasures. Such items to be accomplished through time.

Shame, such a shame. That all this perseverance and hard work to develop those connections would soon be consumed and returned to stardust. The nothingness.

They opened their eyes, stretching out a smile. The sight before them had caught their interest, a photograph to be remembered in all eternity.

For who would go as far as to stop the demolisher of worlds? That was deemed insane by the legends itself.

But Kirby was known to have done such insanity.

The pink puff, seated comfortably on top of his golden star donning a pink tinted visor, casually greeted his foe.

With thousands of allies, in an array of questionably vividly colors to dulled and darkened hues, from varying sizes of tall, small, and in between, poised and ready to battle.

The god blinked, amusement arising in colors blending and shimmering in his veins. Such galaxies, or maybe stars. They weren’t sure just yet.

But the pink thing, the one disguised in shades of light pastels and warmth, constantly surrounded by sparkles and emitting wonder... It was not a star.

Instead it, the god decided, was a consumer.

A black hole.

The same kin.

Surrounding themselves with more and more goodness of lights and life, an undying whirlpool suctioning in nearby and orbiting satellites.

Consuming, until there was nothing left to consume.

Kirby blinked, silently staring in awe of the unmasked vessel. Hovering closely, but not too close to the face of the destroyer’s core.

They were much alike, he found.

Simple faces, round features, similar designs.

He gave a smile.

Endless possibilities, they both thought.

When two black holes encounter each other, they dance around and twirled, swirling around each other in a long battle of endurance.

It’s only when that one gives into the motions that the other consumes it and emerges revitalized and renewed.

This, they found, was much like that.

An otherworldly battle of fate.

Of whom returned victorious could have drastic effects on the rest of the universe.

The peace of mind, or peace of self -- the embrace of blissfulness, or the embrace of acceptance that leads to the end.

  
  
  
  
  


The planets held their breaths.

  
  
  


The stars burn brightly.

  
  


Someone laughs.

Explosions, burn outs, a quiet hush of a flame dying and leaving no remains.

Collapses, scatteredness; gases, nebulas, unknown planets, blooming universes, newly birthed black holes.

Energy spent too high or too low, wavering between the lines and limitations that could be.

Red and blue.

Distance, temperature; closeness, warmth.

A scary fun fact about stars-- they could have died eons ago, and yet we see their light gleaming down from the sky like it was yesterday.

  
  


Some of Kirby’s friends were that exact exception.

If he had time right now, he would recollect in simple, vivid details of his once-enemies-now-friends screaming in horrendous pain, their figures distorted and maimed in shreds, flickering and disappearing into the far end.

Yet, they’ve appeared, breathing and in the flesh.

Kirby didn't know what had happened to them afterwards, but he supposes that they must have been somewhere nice, with all their smiles and pats and reassurances of, “ _ Oh, Kirby, we’ve been having a grand ole time _ !”

_ Oddly enough, they’d stay the farthest away from him whenever they take breaks and regroup, but Kirby would respect their boundaries. _

  
  


The celestial-like core had morphed their face, his mouth opening up and revealing a far too tiny eyeball peering out at the collected horde of allies.

A part of the group shivered, the spine crawling acquaintanceship rearing the familiarity of the Dark Matters and Zero.

The eye analyzed and drank in its opponents. Scanning and memorizing faces and structures, potential dangers and flaws that could lead to its downfall.

Yet the one course of action that it could not anticipate was that of its nemesis.

  
  


Void Termina was surprisingly white and pale.

Kirby was reminded of glacier ice catching the light of those pretty rainbow light streaks in the night sky in winter-like places full of fluffy snow.

Those were cold areas.

Space was also cold.

Termina was, too.

Cold to the touch.

Kirby could’ve sworn that he heard someone shouting-- several people, in fact, screaming his name with a collective wave of sighs and sharp inhales, but his attention was primarily on that in front of him.

Termina.

  
  


Termina with a wide smile and dot eyes, and Kirby realizes with a start that maybe, just maybe, they weren’t fond of being touched.

He should have considered asking before patting-- or even better, giving them a hug instead!

With how cold they felt, a nice, long, warm hug would have fixed them right up!

  
  


...Oh. Termina doesn’t seem too good, becoming all glowy like that.

W-wait,  _ glowy _ ?!

  
  


“Kirby,” he hears someone say, and he can’t quite remember nor place whom’s voice it is. “Why’d you do that?!”

And he turns around, tilting his head to find the source of the question, already forgetting about the situation behind him, saying, “He looked all cold and lonely like that! How could I leave them be?”

Kirby almost misses the beam that shoots past his raised arm.

Almost.

He pulls back in shock, his hand blaring in pain as he looks back at the floating core, tears gathered in his eyes.

  
  


A black hole doesn’t concede. It doesn’t rest when there’s a challenge prepared at its throat.

This was a matter of life and death.

  
  


And Kirby, well…   
Maybe he should have learned by now, but...

Naiveness is a trait that doesn’t truly die.

  
  
  


_ “Are you satisfied with your choices?” _

He remembers someone, just like himself.

“ _ Poy... What do you mean? _ ” Kirby remembers relaying back in the memory.

_ “Well, are you happy with what you’ve got?” _ It’s him, but... not quite.

_ “Of course, poyo!” _

The other ‘ _ him _ ’ gives a small frown.  _ “...Are you really?” _

He tilts his head, confused at the suggestion. “ _ Why shouldn’t poy?” _

His shadow self stands up. They were having a small picnic together.  _ “Aren’t there things you’d like to go back and… change?” _

Kirby puts a paw at his mouth, thinking about it.  _ “Poyo… Don’t know.” _ He frowns; Shadow Kirby had been sad. “ _ Would you? _ ”

He goes quiet for a while, and replies with, “ _ Maybe. _ ”

Another pause.

_ “I could do things better, quicker. Know what to do when it comes again.” _

The rest of their time together stays like that. A little sad.

  
  


Kirby wishes he knew what more to say.

  
  
  


Even now, he wishes that he could have done something to avoid a small mistake such as this.

“What were you thinking?”

And oh, Kirby hadn’t noticed his friends hopping up on his star sparkler, forcing the vehicle to comply to their notions; redirecting it further upwards after the monstrosity.

He could feel his companions’ gazes burn into his back. Kirby only shrugs with a half-hearted smile, wincing as they yell at him.

“You could’a died!”

“Be careful, Kirby!”

“Focus and pay attention!”

Kirby squeaks, huddling into himself as he turns his attention back to the task at hand. They were now in front of Termina yet again, with the latter watching them dauntingly.

A moment passes, and the orb’s face morphs upside down, ever so grinning.

And the unexpected happens; they open their mouth.

“ _ I wonder… _ ”

Everybody freezes. The soft yet shrill sound takes them off guard. It sounds harsh and hoarse, unused for a long time-- it’s to be expected from being banished for so long, but a surprise nonetheless.

It’s ethereal, for something that someone speaks in the middle of a fight for your life.

“ _ Is this your collection? _ ”

For a minute, nobody says anything, then Kirby speaks up, hopping onto his feet.   
“Poy-yeah! My friends!”

“ _ ...Friends? _ ” It was odd, seeing the massive destroyer that’s praised to high hell and back, with a background of sacrifices and hatred in order to be summoned, confused by a simple term.

“Yep,” Kirby chirps. “They’re fellows who help each other out when someone’s in trouble, poyo! And we get to go out and have picnics and explore and eat more and fight baddies and eat some more food--”

Someone thwacks him hard from behind.   
“We take care of each other,” Kirby concludes with a wince, rubbing his side.

“ _ They’re pawns for you to use _ ,” Termina sums up.

“What, poy no!” He waves his hands around hurriedly. Objections shout out from around him, but not as many as there could be, feeling empty. “That’s not true!”

The ever radiant and luminous blorb with colorful veins only smiled ominously. They started moving clockwise, and Kirby scrambled to redirect his vehicle to gain distance.

“ _ How much do they really mean to you? _ ”

Kirby almost pauses right then and there, but his companions urge the star to keep going.   
“They mean everything to me, poyo!”

Void didn’t look convinced.

A gloved hand reaches out in an attempt to override and start shooting, but the pink puff huddles closer towards the star. “I care so much about them, so much that I know they know!”   
“ _ They seem to think otherwise. _ ”

The whirling of the spinning gets stronger, the star’s energy becomes more and more exerted. He can’t hear the voices in the background, desperate yelling, yet they blur and become part of the white noise. Instead, Kirby hyperfixtates onto the one in front of him, onto the blinding figure that are his everlasting doubts and fears.

“I reach out to them, and I’d listen to them! I’d hang out with them forever if I could! I miss them when they’re leaving, even when they’re out of sight a few feet away from me, when they’re only walking away to hang out for another day! I know that they’d know I’d do everything and anything for them, if it helps us grow together and closer as a family! Even if it means painful methods in order to tell them that I love them! I’m frightened when they blow up into obscurity, I don’t know if that’s the last time I’ll ever get to see of them-- if it’s the last time they’re alive and I actually off’d them! I care about their well being, their lives-- themselves! Poyo, I’d even sacrifice myself in the end if I knew that they’d be doing well and fine in the end!”

It’s eerily quiet when he finishes his rant. Kirby looks up and around to see himself alone and standing on his warp star-- it probably reverted back during his rambling. In front of him, Termina has that strange smile on their face, simple and small.

“ _ If that’s all it takes. _ ”

  
Kirby’s mind is numb, slowly processing the words as a bright flash of light blasts and engulfs him. He thinks that he might’ve heard shouting, another shimmering of a star similar to his own, but he’s just  _ so tired _ and he can’t help but to give into the blinding shot, sparks and needles tingling his skin until it recedes and fades into a distant feeling.


	2. An Excerpt from a Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He feels that he should be proud of what he's accomplished.
> 
> But why does a victory feel so much like a defeat?

Everybody’s looking at him.

Off-colored friends and acquaintances alike are strewn into chaos, yelling out their rage and emotional turmoil in their own personal ways of grieving.  
He shrinks under the cold gaze that Dark Meta Knight gives him.

  


The deed is over and done, the threat was eliminated with a less than slightly method; he had tried replicating those heart attacks that he had watched Kirby carefreely throwing about.  
He poured his all into the heart, filling it all the way to the brim with feelings that even he didn’t know he had, the very-now physical heart almost bursting at the seams with a later-named emotion called affection, and thrown it at the core-like enemy.

It spazzed and ruptured, light slowly beaming out of it as it looked at him with a strange smile.

He’d finally been able to stop something, to _ destroy _ someone.

  
But he came at the very last second, as always. A little too late.   
Kirby’s gone.   
And it’s all his fault.

“I’m sorry,” Shadow Kirby meekly whispers as he helps guide the warp stars with their passengers back on Popstar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “_Create until nothing is left to create,_  
_And the universe bursts with an overworked sigh_  
_And pretend to-_  
Pretend to _recrown the creation_  
_And sing the same thing ‘til the clouds start to cry._”


	3. New Game+

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relocating...

Kirby cracked open his eyes and blinked.

  
  


His skin was pale and neutral in tone instead of the lively pink flourish that he was accustomed to; the bleached white tint of his earlier youth evident and prevailing all across his body. His surroundings, too nostalgic to miss, fairing the same condition as himself but grandeur and decorative-- beige walls and hints of gold curling around and twisted against frames in the halls, holding a familiar face.

There were four doors located at each corner that had drawings of the bosses behind them, but were scrawled over with a bold “**CLOSED** ”. In the center, however, was a lone portrait with thin bar frames that held Dedede’s face; his gloved left hand depicting a victory sign… or were those bunny ears? Kirby never really knew-- many times he tried asking him, but all he got in return was a scoff and a long argument about hand signs.   
Maybe it was a “U”?   


But nevermind that, why was he back here?  
And when did they redecorate?   
He didn’t miss out on too much, did he?   
And why was he colorless again? Did the beam do that to him? Remove his color? Or repaint him?

The last thing he could remember was the fight against Void Termina.  
Maybe it was an illusion, a trick?   
Or a moment where they placed him in an arena to go against all the past bosses? But why were the other four doors locked then? He couldn’t remember beating them, unless he looked back into his memory and remembered the first time he-

Oh.  
_ Oh _ …?   
But… It didn’t make a lot of sense.   
Didn’t they recreate one of Green Green’s plots to preserve the state and memory in celebration for his birthday? Along with a celebratory statue of him? Plus it would’ve taken a lot of time just to redecorate and restructure Triple D’s castle right after a reconstruction… and destruction.

_ How many times has his castle been destroyed or remodeled?_

_Ho̵w͝ m̛an͟y̴ tim͘e̶s̶ h̶a̛s͏ ̨he been ͘p̧ơss̨ȩsse̢d҉?͞ H̕͏͞ęl͢p͟͠le̛͞s͠҉s̛͟͡?̡̧_

Kirby shook his head, clearing away the bad train of thought. It didn’t matter so much now, now that’s it’s been over and dealt with. They were all safe again, and he wouldn’t question the choice or fashion of the remodel.  
After all, he could imagine Dedede waiting for him behind that huge tapestry, worrying about things over with Bandana Dee as Meta Knight hovers somewhere close to the duo, wanting to be nowhere near Susie as she talks something over with Magalor, showing off his unique items to both her and Daroach, whom’s secretly swiping a few treasures with the help of the Squeaks, and Marx is adjacent to them with Adeline and Ribbon, goading the artist to give him food with the aid of Gooey, who’s not too sure of what’s happening himself but going with it, while the artist and fairy are in the middle of giving art lessons to Dark Meta Knight, silently struggling but refusing to admit it out loud. Taranza’s off in the back, plucking away some petals from flowers he’s gathered with a distant look in his eyes, but is brought back to smiling with the others once they’ve noticed his lack of words.

_ Yeah, everybody’s safe and sound _ , Kirby reassures himself as he hops up with a small, quick breath. _ They must be! _ They’ve been waiting for quite a while for him to wake up and greet them.

Imagine their expressions, their surprise!  
He’d have to apologize for fainting there at the end, though… But it was okay!   
They got through it!   
Together…!

Kirby bursts through the decor, falling into the hidden room, bouncing onto the arena’s floor.  
Awaiting him was none other than the King himself, although he seemed to be caught off-guard, the blue pengu’s foot frozen in mid-tap while his arm rests on the handle of his hammer, previously drowsy.  
Kirby was confused as Dedede shook himself awake and hyped himself up. _Where was everybody else? Did they leave because it was getting late?_ _But then_, the puff thought as he watched Triple D twirl his hammer in an enthusiastic manner, _where was Bandany?_ He would force himself to stay up late to cheer both of them on.

Kirby opened his mouth. “Dedede?”  
The said-king looked attentive as the puff said his name, though annoyance was displayed through his angry grin and twitching eyelid. “Yer real brave fo’ somethin’ so little, huh? Well,” He raises his unoccupied gloved fist and pounds it on his chest, “Humor me.”   
The puff tilts his head, a paw raised to his mouth. “Poy… I don’t know that many good jokes.”   
King Dedede clenches his jaw, and lugs his hammer on his shoulder. “Hey, you mockin’ me? You should really learn your place!”   
“But I--” Kirby nearly rolls out of the way from an incoming hammer smash. He frowns, “Why-”   
  
A hammer swings and collides with the small puff, sending him harshly across the room and crashing into the arena’s rope boundaries. His body’s natural flexibility lets him bounce onto the floor rippling with movement, letting out squeaks as he slowly loses momentum, eventually rolling face-first into the ground.

King Dedede laughs. “Ya think you can waltz in here an’ sweet talk your way in? For some time there, I really thought you were an unstoppable force to be reckoned with, but now…” A sleazy grin eases onto his face, “Are you ev’n taking this seriously?”

_ ?! _

_ This… _ _   
_ _ This wasn’t… _

“I expected a challenge, some type o’ _ “ _ ** _hero_ ** _ ” _ you turned out to be,” he ridicules.

_ You’re… You’re not… _

“What? You snoozin’ already? Givin’ up?!” His voice is mocking, laced with exasperation. “Boy, oh boy, bet’cha never done anythin’ important in yo life.”

“Th-...” _ That’s not true. _   
“ _ Hmm _ ?” He’s leaning over and cupping his non-existent ear. “‘Ey, speak up a little, would’ja?”   
  
He tries to speak, but it _ hurts _.

“Oh, I’m _ sorry _ , couldn’t hear ya through the sound of me winning,” he boasts. “Now, who here put you up to this? It was a real good try, too! I tell ya what, you can go off an’ scamper back on to your home, and tell your neighbors that _ King _ ,” he shouts, spit flying and landing on Kirby’s head, “Dedede has given you a lil’ trophy with A for effort, and that I’ll be waitin’ for the **real** contend’or to come, not some tiny pipsqueak.”   


Feeling that his statement had gotten across quite clear, he howls some more.

  
  


But the gumball didn’t move.

  


And as an impatient, haughty King, he took offense to that.

“Hey,” the King yells. “This ain’t a snoozin’ place for Noddies!”

There was no reaction, no movement nor a twitch.

“Get up,” he takes out his hammer, “Or I’ll make ya!”

Hastily counting down from three, King Dedede lunges and swings his mallet.

  
But…

  


It didn’t hit.  
Or rather, a small puffball caught it.

“Huh?!” The King shrieks out, astonished, then chooses at that moment to snarkily remark, “You finally takin’ it seriously?”

Taking a good look at his opponent causes Dedede to want to eat his words and swallow up his beak.  


Kirby’s face was impossibly blank, as neutral as one could be down to the straight, emotionless line his mouth became. His eyes were glossed over and dull, as if he weren't truly there.  


Dedede gulps, a thought pervading-- but he quickly stuffs it down, and attempts to pull away from his hammer.

  
But it didn’t budge, instead staying locked in place.

  
His fear increased tenfold, anxiety telling him to keep tugging, to keep his hold on the handle of the weapon, that _ eventually _ it’ll slip free. He even tried using his feet to dislodge it out of place, but it was still stuck.

That little gumball revealed a small smile, and Dedede mistakenly relaxed his shoulders.

  


Kirby hauled up the mallet a good few feet up in the air, with the pengu still clinging onto it like a lifeline, and started spinning.  
At first, it was at a leisurely pace, with Dedede’s wobbly demeanor cracking into mocking at his slow-start. Then, it got faster, and _ faster _ , and ** _faster_ **. The self-declared king wasn’t smiley anymore, instead gasping and crying out for help. Dedede demanded to be let off of this joyride, to which Kirby minutely complied and hurled the hammer as well as its passenger into the ropes.

  


Dedede crashed and dropped to the ground, his back aching and sore with hollow agony. His mallet had also hurtled directly into his front, a thorough, echoing pain like no other lingering within his core, digging through and through still. The pengu suspects that his chest might have broken and caved through from the blow.

Squeaks from the stranger's footsteps draw near, and the king might have laughed if he didn't just lose humiliatingly in a few seconds.

He sluggishly scrambles to gain whatever scraps of his composure he can piece back, and manages to lift his body weight by a few good centimeters before collapsing back on the ground. The kid's in front of him, he can tell through amplifying vertigo vision. He sweats, and his breathing increases.

"H-h-hey, there's no n-need ta do this!" Dedede clambers, panicking. "W-whatcha want? Moolah? Fame? Foo- oh course ya want food they right tha'r in the back, j-just don't--!"

The King clamps his mouth shut and reflexively flinches back as a paw appears in front of him. After a good minute, he cracks open an eye and looks on in surprise as the pipsq- _ kid _, is lying on his side, watching curiously.

  


They held a long staring contest, until he finally breaks the tension.

  


"Soo… What happened?" Kirby asks, somewhat relieved it wasn't another Arena.

"W-wh..," the befallen king wheezes, out of exhaustion or injury, Kirby wasn't so sure.

"You know!" He scoots closer to Dedede's face. "All our friends and that strange cool-t, and the big bird thing that turned out to be a shimmering, smiling circle!"

"...k-Kid..?" Dedede manages to cough out.

"Yeah?"

"I don't… If t-this is anuther tr-trick or ya playin dum' on me…"

"I would never do that to you, Tri-De!" Kirby gasps animatedly. "Well.. Besides those other times when we-"

He places a gloved hand over Kirby's mouth, effectively shushing him, and rasps, "You don't hafta make things up.. J-just.. Just take da final star and run back home."

Kirby places his hand off. "But I'm not! And what--?"

Dedede manages to rummage through his coat from his position on the floor and brings out a glowing object. Through some lingering reluctance, he releases his grasp and allows the bright, Sparkling Star to float freely.

Kirby's eyes widen, realization dawning and immersing him into a tidal wave of nostalgia. Numbly, he watches on as four other Sparkling Stars rise off of his person and dance about, rejoicing with its missing piece.

"It… it can't be," the puff mutters, his heart weighing heavily. "No… no!" Desperately, Kirby jumps on Dedede. "Tell me, Dedede, tell me what today is!"

"W-whoa now," the pengu grimaces at his display. "It's April of 1992… W-why…"

Dedede continues talking but Kirby drifts off, unable to focus on the moment at hand. He finds himself distantly aware of the Sparkling Stars awaiting, while the king wearily anticipates his next move.

  
  
  
  


In the end, Kirby smiles and, once again, extends his limb out towards King Dedede.

"I'm sorry, poy… We started off on the wrong foot!" The stars audibly sparkle in turn, hovering around Kirby's head like a halo. "I'd like to introduce myself better, so, um.. I'm Kirby, King Dedede, and I'd like to protect you!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "_On a tiny star far, far away from earth, there is a very special place known as Dream Land. The Dream Landers are very happy people who use their magical Sparkling Stars to play and work am̷ong̨ ̧t͏h͘e͟ ̧h͟e͝a͏ve͜ns͟. T̛h͡at ͜is ̸̡ưn̷t̵͢i̸̴͠l͞ o͞͝ņe͏̶ da͟r̸̕͝k̨ ni͡g͞h͞t̕ ̶͢wh͏e̢n̶͟ ̕͞the̛.͜͡͏..̡̢_"

**Author's Note:**

> "_And you fall inside a hole you couldn't see,_  
_You fall inside a hole inside a--_  
_**Someone help me.**_"


End file.
